AN INTRODUCTION TO SENSORIMOTOR PSYCHOTHERAPY

Keynote Speaker Janina Fisher, Ph.D. & Justine K. Polevoy, LMFT

As the price for surviving trauma, individuals are left with a host of easily re-activated somatic responses and an inadequate memory record. Uncertain about what happened, trauma survivors interpret the somatic activation as data about “me:” “I am still not safe,” “I am worthless and unlovable.” Through the lens of these procedurally-learned, body-based responses, the traumatized individual makes meaning of all subsequent experience.

This workshop will cover recent neuroscience research that explains how traumatic experience becomes deeply embedded in both mind and body. Participants will learn how to assess and make sense of trauma-based symptoms and how to apply neurobiologically informed treatment techniques in clinical practice.

Using a multimodal approach—integrating lecture, videotapes, and experiential exercises—participants will be introduced to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, a body-centered talking therapy developed by Pat Ogden, Ph.D., that addresses such trauma related challenges as: dysregulated autonomic arousal, overwhelming affects and sensations, intrusive images and memories, impulsivity and acting out, dissociative phenomena, and numbing and disconnection.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy offers simple body-oriented interventions for naming and exploring somatic responses which can be seamlessly integrated into traditional talking therapies to enhance their effectiveness in addressing the nonverbal components of post-traumatic symptoms.

Capitalizing on research on the impact of trauma on attachment, this program will also provide a context for understanding how to use the therapeutic relationship in a neurobiologically-informed way to provide a safe “container” for both patient and therapist in the challenging work of trauma treatment.

Join Janina and Justine at The USABP's 6th National Conference: Unraveling Trauma: Body, Mind, and Science (Click here to go to the USABP web page to register)